Jonathan Alpert

Rep. Anthony Weiner described his serial sexting and lewd emails as “dumb mistakes” – but mental health experts called them examples of self-sabotage and thrill-seeking.

Weiner confessed Monday to a series of “inappropriate,” but not physical, relationships with sexy women on Internet social sites like Facebook and Twitter.

“I don’t know what I was thinking. This was a destructive thing to do,” said the 46-year-old Democrat from Queens, who has been married for only 11 months.

Manhattan psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert said Weiner’s behavior suggests he was looking for a rush. “I see this a lot with high-powered people, usually men, where they’re thrill-seekers,” said Alpert, whose clients include Wall Street executives. “Often the risk of being caught heightens the intensity and makes it all the more thrilling.”

He said Weiner’s recklessness seems to have caused him to ignore a golden rule of asking, “Would it be okay if one of my constituents saw this or my wife saw this?”

Patrick Wanis, a human behavior expert, said Weiner seems to have been more interested in feeling powerful.

“What we are seeing is a new pattern of these people who are very powerful in their position, but they seem to lack power in their personal relationships,” said Wanis, who is also a celebrity life coach.

“It’s a person who says, ‘I’m trying to find a way to feel powerful because I have no power in my personal relationship.’”

Baltimore psychologist Frank Gunzburg said Weiner put himself on a slippery slope by trying to justify his behavior by saying his online relationships did not turn physical.

“You feel somewhat better because you haven’t gone over that barrier that others have crossed,” Gunzburg added.

But Yvonne Thomas, a Los Angeles-based psychologist, said cheating is cheating, even if it’s just online.

“It’s too affectionate, it’s too intimate,” Thomas said. “That’s stuff you reserve for only somebody who would be your partner. It’s not just for anybody. That’s what differentiates having a significant other.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/06/07/2011-06-07_docs_weiner_did_it_for_thrills.html#ixzz1Oh6OQ0PG